Business owners are a special group. There’s no shortage of problems for the CEO. One of the biggest and most tragic situations I have seen too many times to count over the last 20 years working with CEOs involves getting lured into a “software trap” where a company is held hostage in a place that is debilitating and excessively expensive.
Accounting Software and its Hostages
It is tragic because businesses become absolutely dependent on an accounting software platform that is expensive, complex, and doesn’t perform as promised or is just operationally ineffectively. And they don’t have the extra capital and fortitude to face another “experience” of doing another conversion so they feel trapped.
The siren song begins when providers of these platforms make promises for the “magic-bullet”, turnkey, all-in-one, fully integrated, accounting system that will transform your business.
The reality is that these accounting software systems are typically not cost-effective for a business, small or large, for several reasons. They tend to be hard to learn, tedious to train people on, and not user-friendly. The bells and whistles promised in the all-in-one package generally come with a bunch of added fees and their implementation can have serious drawbacks. Unfortunately, I’ve seen this time and time again: 90% of the time in these situations the software only provides a fraction of the benefit promised, while other big compromises are being made that were unforeseen during the software evaluation process.
It’s natural for business owners to feel trapped or held hostage by poor accounting software decisions. Fear of change and lack of experience with a variety of solutions are compounded by the risk and expense of employee turnover and software training.
Detour Around Tragedy
CFO Network has worked with hundreds of companies and have deep experience with system migrations. In fact, we just did an evaluation for a company where we are going to save the owner over $30,000 per year. The solution is a clear, unbiased view into your business needs, and migrating to a lower cost, easier-to-use platform. That’s what we offer.
If you’re feeling trapped in a similar situation, now’s the time to act. Let CFO Network’s vast experience provide your company with the guidance you need to make your accounting seamless and worry-free. To learn more about CFO Network, and how you can save, call me directly to speak about your needs at 501.374.8123.
Allen Engstrom
Owner, CFO Network